During shipment, packages are often subjected to significant impact forces and vibrations. Various containers and methods for protectively packaging fragile articles of manufacture (such as, for example, glassware (e.g., bottles), electronic devices, etc.) have been presented in the art.
For example, it is known in the art to provide an article of manufacture in a container, such as a cardboard box, and to fill the voids or spaces within the container around the article of manufacture with loose particulate material. Such loose particulate material may include, for example, particles of expanded polystyrene or another polymer material, which are often referred to in the art as “loosefill peanuts.” Cardboard inserts also may be used within the container to minimize or prevent migration (e.g., settlement) of the loose particulate material during shipment. For example, corrugated cardboard inserts may be provided between articles of manufacture within a container prior to filling the container with loose particulate material.
It is also known in the art to wrap articles of manufacture in plastic sheeting comprising encapsulated pockets of air, which is often referred to in the art as “bubble-pack,” prior to positioning the articles of manufacture within a container for shipment. The encapsulated pockets of air in the plastic sheeting provide a cushion that protects the article of manufacture wrapped in the plastic sheeting against impact shock and vibrations. It is also known to wrap an article of manufacture in the previously described plastic sheeting comprising encapsulated pockets of air, insert the wrapped article of manufacture in a container, and then fill any voids or spaces within the container around the article of manufacture with the previously described loose particulate material.
Additional containers and methods for packing articles of manufacture for shipment are described in the prior art, a few of which are briefly described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,897 to Avery describes a shipping package for barrels. A tray having a plurality of raised abutments projecting from its interior surface is attached to a pallet. The raised abutments are configured to engage the vertical outside surfaces of the barrels, thereby maintaining the barrels in a substantially fixed position relative to the pallet. An extra tray may be inverted and used as a cap over the top of the barrels positioned in the first tray to further protect the barrels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,508 to Beckerman describes a shock absorbent cap that can be used within a container for shipping a product. The shock absorbent cap has a base and a plurality of product positioning structures that arise out of and around the edges of the base and define a product cavity. The shock absorbent cap also includes a plurality of resilient spring walls that are connected to the product positioning structures and extend downwardly and outwardly therefrom. The spring walls connect each other at the corners. To ship a product, the product is placed in the product cavity of the cap, and the cap is placed in a rigid container.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,080 to Carstersen et al. describes molded holding members that can be used to ship disc drives. The holding members have a plurality of receptacles recessed in a face of each holding member for fixably maintaining and protecting a plurality of disc drives in a container. The holding members each have four sides with a centrally located T-shaped cushion pad having smooth sides for conforming to the interior of the container. The union of each side is formed by a pair of inverted L-shaped cushion pads joined at the top and whose junction is chamfered for ease of insertion and removal from the container. The holding members each have an end that includes a plurality of tapered conical cushion pads for providing shock protection for the disc drive devices enclosed within the holding members.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,334 to Smith discloses a product cushioning structure for supporting a product and co-packaged accessories in an outer container. The product cushioning structure is formed of a moldable resilient plastic material and provides shock absorption protection and impact protection to the product from the co-packaged accessories during shock loading conditions. A product-supporting region of the cushioning structure is defined by walls and a product-supporting platform. The product-supporting region is surrounded by flexible shock-absorbing spring transition sections arranged inwardly of outer container contacting walls. A void is formed beneath the platform, which is ribbed to further protect the product from impact or contact from any co-packaged accessory.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,805,241 to Smith discloses a protective packaging device for a product being shipped or stored in an outer container. The packaging device has a cavity for receiving the product therein. A base portion located below the cavity has two pairs of deflection elements extending diagonally away from the corners of the cavity towards external outer packaging container contacting corners. The base portion also includes outer packaging container contacting lips at the bottom of the base portion. The distances between adjacent pairs of outer packaging container contacting corners are substantially equal to the internal distances between adjacent pairs of corners of the outer packaging container. The deflection elements are adapted to flex away one from another under shock loading conditions. The bottom outer packaging container contacting lips are adapted to spread away from one another under shock loading conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,743 to Hurley et al. discloses a shipping tray for bottles or the like. The shipping tray includes bottle receiving cradles and has top and bottom stop members to prevent the bottle from sliding out of the tray. Shock-absorbing members are provided about the perimeter of the tray. Indentations are provided at spaced locations on the tray perimeter and function as shock-absorbing spring members. The indentations further can be used as grips to enable easy removal of the tray from within a container.